each decade has a drug of choice.
the 1970's had marijuana, which is still prevalent today.
the 1980's had a big crack problem, which is still felt in some areas of the country.
the 1990's was a mix of things. marijuana, being the gateway drug, opened up people to cocaine and maybe heroine.
the thing about these drugs is that they came in and out, even though the remnants remain with us. kids still smoke pot. adults do cocaine occasionally. if you're doing heroine then you're most likely to die of an overdose, but it's not an epidemic. a lot of these drugs are experimental, hopefully non-habit forming, although it doesn't justify the use of them. with the internet, and the technology to make the internet readily available in all circumstances, the past decade has been culminating the new drug of choice: information.
you can call it the internet, but it entails so much more: social networking, chatting, googling, gaming, cyber sexing, blogging, commenting, youtubing, multi-tasking, and the list will continue to increase. because unlike the other physical drugs before it, this drug is far more mental and spiritual than we will choose to believe.
marijuana was done mostly in groups of friends. cocaine could be shared. heroine was individualistic, but you could have a friend to share the high with. the point is that people did these drugs with other people. the severely addicted would do these drugs by themselves because of their craving, but usually people were not alone in the deed. the age of information is different.
everyone has a laptop, iPhone, netbook, blackberry, anything that has internet access and no one shares these items. we may take turns using them, but we don't surf the web together. when we're at our friend's house and there's nothing to do, we use their computer. and we're fine. we can be fine for hours looking at videos, reading the latest blogs or reviews, checking the scores, chatting with other people, doing things that you didn't need to leave the house for. but that's the transition we're making. we can leave our house and do these things. all we need is 4G. all we need is our laptop and we can go to a bookstore or starbucks or anywhere with free wi-fi. pastor Mark Driscoll pointed out the irony in one of his sermons, people go to these public places, so they can be by themselves. you go to where other people are because you know that they're not going to bother you. they're not going to approach you unless you're near an outlet.
people will point to eHarmony, w.o.w., facebook, myspace, aim, and other social networking or gaming or dating sites to show how the internet brings people closer together. but do they? do you really know a person after chatting with him or her for a few hours as opposed to meeting them and seeing their physical mannerisms or details in person? does gaming for days on end make you best friends with someone? does catching up with an old friend mean "friending" someone on facebook? when we want to know more, we use wikipedia or google. we want to know everything about anything. and it's readily available to us. who directed that film? when did it come out? does she have pictures? is this restaurant good? how hot is it today?
we haven't cut out the middleman, we've added one. we've eliminated experience. we don't go outside to feel the weather. we've degraded our smiles and tears into emoticons. we talk about everything via aim and when we meet in person we have nothing to say. we've replaced it all with information and we can't stop. one thing leads to another and hours will pass. you have filled your mind with trivial matters that you will regurgitate in a rare "conversation," that may last a few sentences before you take out your phone.
i don't believe the internet is evil. it's made things easier. paying bills, writing mail, applying for jobs, buying things, staying in touch with people. it's not an absolute evil, but doesn't our excess turn it into some kind of monster?
this generation is going to be raised on the iPhone and the apps it comes with. kids already have facebooks, even though they are in elementary schools. the internet has good, but it opens up potential for bad things to happen. "to catch a predator" was aired on tv for a reason. cyber stalkers, sexting, cyber abuse, cyber sex are all terms along with lol, gg, btw, :P, brb because we've allowed them to be. the next generation will be raised by information alone. what kind of people will they be if their parents are stuck on the internet googling how to be a good parent?
am i going too far? maybe. but something from this post, i hope, will resonate with you. job applications are almost, all, online. email is the preferred way of communication. videochats and instant messaging/texting are eliminating face to face contact. will interviews become a multiple choice test? some parts of it are, testing your personality. will match.com become the way to meet your spouse? for some, it has. will you live your "life" online? or will you experience joy and pain, suffering and hope in a tangible way that you can't translate onto the internet? real or unreal? the thing is that whatever you choose there will always be a mixture of unreal with the real and vice versa. we live to see the dawn and use nightlights to ward off the darkness. we love cooking over an open flame as long as it is propane fueled. we love walking around in an air conditioned atmosphere. but what will be overshadowing the other? whether you do anything about it immediately or let it simmer in your mind for a long time, the day will come when there's no choice left, but to pick your poison.
